


lovesick.

by annabethkins



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Mortal, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Sick Percy Jackson, Sickfic, Temporarily Unrequited Love, brief connor/annabeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29390748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabethkins/pseuds/annabethkins
Summary: percy has loved annabeth ever since they were kids. and he wants to tell her how he feels, but his anxiety isn't letting him. when percy stops taking his medication, and connor stoll asks out annabeth, he begins to spiral. will he ever be able to communicate his feelings before it's too late?or, percy jackson is so in love with annabeth chase that it's making him sick.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 67





	lovesick.

**Author's Note:**

> hello. for those of u who have read my works before: don't panic, this work is finished. and it's only one chapter. if any of you are writers, you know how difficult multichapter fics are to write, but i think long oneshots actually work pretty well for me.
> 
> anyways, if ur new here...thanks for clicking on this fic and i hope u enjoy :))
> 
> tw// anxiety and emetophobia

This weekend was supposed to go differently for Percy Jackson. 

The seven were all on facetime that night, attempting to get their homework done but failing hopelessly. Partially because all of their neurodivergent selves could not focus their attention on any kind of school work, but also because there were more important things for the group to discuss. 

“Are we gonna address the elephant in the room,” Piper said to a rather quiet group facetime. Nobody responded. “Annabeth Chase is going on a date,” 

“Piper McClean —” The blonde girl gasped. “You weren’t supposed to say anything,” 

“Wait what’s happening?” Leo asked. 

“Nothing,” Annabeth quickly responded. 

“Connor asked you out?” Jason asked, ignoring Annabeth’s reply. The blonde girl chewed her lip, looking away from her laptop camera. “He did, didn’t he?” A grin was forming across the blonde boy’s lips 

“No way,” Hazel gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. 

“Dude that’s so exciting,” Frank added. “Are you excited?” 

“Do we really have to talk about this?” Annabeth asked nervously. 

“Yes.” The group responded quickly, making the blonde roll her eyes. She sighed helplessly. 

“Okay I was gonna wait to tell you guys, but I guess Piper just couldn’t keep her mouth shut,” Annabeth jabbed at Piper, but the brown-haired girl didn’t mind. “He asked me out after school today and I only told Piper because she drove me home—” 

“Well, where are you going? At what time? Is it tomorrow?” Hazel interrupted excitedly. 

“I-I’m not sure, we haven’t really covered that much,” Annabeth revealed awkwardly. Her cheeks were clearly turning pink. “I was supposed to call him after our group facetime, actually—” 

“Well, why are you still on here with us? Go talk to him.” Leo encouraged. 

“Because we were supposed to be doing work,” Annabeth told them. Piper scoffed, rolling her eyes at the blonde playfully. 

“We’re not even doing any work,” Piper said. “Plus we always end up finishing our homework Sunday night anyways.” 

“Before the 11:59 p.m. deadline, of course,” Frank added. 

Annabeth shrugged. 

“Well I wanted to talk to you guys,” Annabeth said, receiving sappy noises of appreciation in return. “Ew, don’t be cringe.” 

  
  


After a few moments of silence, they’d noticed how quiet Percy had been throughout the conversation. Annabeth and Percy were best friends, so for him to be so silent while she was the topic of conversation felt strange. 

“Percy, you’ve been quiet for a while,” Piper pointed out. “What do you think about all this?” 

The idea of Annabeth going on a date didn’t sit well with Percy, especially since the person going with her wasn’t him. And Connor Stoll of all people? 

Yeah, it didn’t make Percy feel good at all. 

The boy could sense an anxious feeling bubbling inside of his stomach while all eyes focused on him. He shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing what to say. 

“Yeah, yeah it’s pretty cool,” Percy said simply, his voice kind of shaking. That did not sound convincing whatsoever. 

The other six stared blankly at him, mostly looking confused, though Annabeth looked concerned. Maybe even a little upset by his response. Percy took a breath, trying to calm his breathing. 

“Perce are you okay?” Annabeth asked gently. 

“Yeah man, you’re looking a little pale,” Jason observed. “You feeling okay?” 

Percy could feel his anxiety growing as the seconds passed, and if he didn’t find a distraction soon, he might just go into full panic attack mode. God Percy hated his anxiety so much. One minor thing triggers it and suddenly he’s on the verge of breaking down. 

This wasn’t even a big deal, Annabeth was just going on a date with a boy in their class. So what? This was nothing. It was absolutely nothing at all. There was no reason for his body to be responding this way. 

He didn’t even know why the idea of Annabeth on a date with Connor Stoll, or on a date with anyone in general, made him spiral out of control. 

Well actually, he did have some understanding as to why, but he wasn’t brave enough to confront those feelings quite yet. 

However, he condemns himself for pushing said feelings down for so long because now he was here, on a facetime call, nearly on the brink of a panic attack in front of friends because his Annabeth was set to go on a date with someone other than him.

“Sorry, I’m just—” Percy was trying to think of a lie. “I’m just not feeling too great right now.” Okay, that wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth either. 

“Yeah, you don’t look good either,” Leo commented. 

“Dude.” Frank scolded, looking at Leo sternly. 

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” The curly-haired boy explained. “I was just trying to say that maybe you should go relax if you’re not feeling great,” Leo suggested. 

“Yeah maybe we should all just get off the call,” Hazel said. “We’re not doing work anyways,” The group nodded in agreement. 

“Plus Annabeth can go call her man’s now,” Piper added. But Annabeth didn’t respond, she was too busy observing Percy’s manner. The dark-haired boy couldn’t make eye contact with her. 

“Okay well, I guess we can just text later,” Jason said, sounding disappointed to get off of the phone. Again, the group nodded in agreement. 

“Well feel better Percy,” They all said in unison, but Percy hung up before responding. Maybe that was rude to not respond to his friends, but he couldn’t stay any longer. 

Percy quickly shut his laptop, burying his face into the fluffy pillow ahead of him. He groaned loudly, trying to fight the urge to cry. But a horribly familiar sinking feeling was beginning to form in his chest. There was no avoiding the panic attack now. 

_Ding!_

A loud buzz came from the boy’s phone which had been resting on the bedside table. Sluggishly, he reached for it, checking to see who was messaging him and why. 

To his dismay, it was been Annabeth. 

____

**Annabeth**

(9:34 pm) hey, u ok? 

(9:34 pm) u looked upset 

____

He didn’t respond. 

Instead, he threw his phone on the floor, watching as it tumbled across his carpet. Warm tears slowly spilling out of his eyes as his lower lip quivered. Percy tried not to make any noise, he didn’t wanna gain any unwanted attention from his family, but his silent tears quickly turned into loud sobs. 

Percy hated the burning feeling inside of his chest, he just wanted to get rid of it. He couldn’t stop crying, he felt absolutely horrible. At times he felt extremely hot, thinking he might faint, but then a chill sensation would roll down his spine, shaking the entirety of his body. 

And that bubbling feeling in his stomach he sensed earlier had yet to subside, making him feel rather nauseous, and crying wasn’t helping him either. He just wanted everything to stop, but his sobs were uncontrollable at this point. He could barely breathe, horrified that he would collapse any moment. 

This sucked. 

Percy felt like an absolute idiot, and he hated being alone and he hated how dramatic he was being and he hated the damn anxiety that continued to curse him constantly and he hated his life and he hated himself and-

_Knock knock._

There was someone at the door. 

“Percy?” A comforting voice asked. “What’s going on dude?” 

Thalia was here, thank god. Percy wasn’t so alone after all. His cousin approached him carefully, sitting directly next to him on the bed. She grabbed onto his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. 

  
  


“Hey.” Percy hitched in between sobs, not looking at his cousin. 

“What’s going on?” Thalia asked simply. Percy just kept crying, finding it difficult to respond. 

He was too embarrassed to answer. Not because Thalia was here, but because he felt his reason for the crying was so tedious and unimportant. He didn’t want Thalia to think he was being overdramatic, even though he felt that himself.

So, he just kept crying into his hands, too scared to look up at her, and unable to stop the sobs, though he tried. Everything was just too overwhelming. 

And instead of insisting on a response even further, Thalia just pulled the boy into a soft hug, allowing him to cry into her shoulder. Percy was thankful for the physical contact, and it surprisingly calmed him down quickly. 

After a couple more minutes, Percy’s sobbed relaxed until he was able to find a stable breath and let tears just spill out of his eyes quietly. 

“Do you want me to get you some water?” Thalia asked, still holding him in her arms, his head now placed on her shoulder. 

Percy still wasn’t ready to speak, so he shook his head instead. He was absolutely exhausted. 

The older girl could tell how tired he was and couldn’t help but feel bad for him. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen him this way, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last time. Yet still, she didn’t enjoy seeing her younger cousin like this. 

Percy had a common pattern of bottling up how he felt until the last second because he hated when people worried about him. He felt the need to protect everyone else and had little to no regard for himself. That wasn’t good for a boy with diagnosed anxiety, who’d also stopped taking his medication a while ago. 

_Ding!_

Another buzzing sound came from his phone which had still been on the floor where Percy last left it. Thalia looked at the phone, then at Percy who seemed to have no reaction to the notification. Thalia cleared her throat. 

“I’ll go pick up your phone,” Thalia told him. Percy wanted to stop her, but then again he was too tired to care enough. She grabbed it slowly, wiping off the dust that’d gotten on the bright screen. “Annabeth texted,” 

Percy’s heart clenched at the mention of her name. 

“What’d she say?” He asked. His voice sounded terribly hoarse, and speaking made it feel sore. 

____

**Annabeth**

(9:47 pm) ok i saw that u read that and now i’m getting concerned 

(9:47 pm) did i do something wrong ?

(9:49 pm) god i’m making this abt me sry 

(9:51 pm) im rlly sry if this is annoying i just wanna make sure ur ok 

(9:55 pm) ya know what i’ll just leave u alone. feel better, Perce. 

____

Thalia read the messages aloud, and now Percy felt worse. He didn’t want to make it seem like he was ignoring her, but how was he supposed to explain himself right now? 

And how would he even respond? 

_“Hey Annabeth, I’m actually madly in love with you and just had a panic attack because I can’t stand the idea of you potentially being with someone else even though I’ve never properly communicated my feelings?”_ Yeah, that didn’t seem like the best response. 

“How do you want me to respond?” Thalia asked unlocking the boy’s phone. 

“Don’t. Don’t respond.” Percy told her. 

“Are you sure? She seems really concerned.” 

“Just don’t.” 

“Okay.” Thalia put Percy’s phone back on his bedside table. 

Percy threw himself back onto his bed, sighing and closing his eyes tightly. The boy’s head had been pounding now, and the nauseous feeling had yet to leave. At this point, he just wanted to go to sleep. 

“I’ll leave you alone,” Thalia said, making her way towards the door. “Let me know if you need anything,” 

“Hey, Thalia?” Percy said, sitting up to look at his cousin before she left the room. “Can you maybe not tell my mom about this? I don’t want her to worry,” 

“Okay well Percy this is something to worry about,” Thalia said in the doorway, turning towards him again. “Dude you stopped taking your medication —” 

“Can you not say it so loud? My mom is literally putting Estelle to sleep down the hall,” Percy snapped harsher than he wanted to. “And you promised you wouldn’t say anything,” 

“Yeah until it got too out of control.” Thalia reminded him. “You’ve been having attacks too frequently recently and you won’t even tell me why.” 

“Because I can handle it.” Percy tried to reassure her. “I’m fine, seriously.” Thalia didn’t believe him, but she didn’t want to keep having this conversation. 

“Are you coming down for dinner? Your mom ordered pizza.” She asked him. The thought of food made Percy’s stomach churn. The boy shook his head. 

“I’m not hungry,” Percy replied. “Just tell my mom I’m really tired,” Thalia flashed Percy a concerned look. “Please just do it.” 

Then the girl left his room, slamming the door shut, leaving Percy alone in the darkness of his room yet again. He felt like complete and utter shit. The boy’s head was pounding, his stomach was in knots, and he was felt extremely guilty.

It’s not like he really did anything wrong, but he felt bad for the way he’d been treating everyone around him. For one, he hung up on his friends without saying goodbye, then he ignored Annabeth’s messages, leaving her worried, and now Thalia was probably bothered with him too. 

He felt like a shit person. But again, he was way too tired to do anything about it. Plus, he was too scared to contact Annabeth in fear that he’d go into panic mode again. Percy just didn’t wanna risk it. 

So instead, he powered off his phone completely and decided to try getting to bed early that night. 

Easier said than done. 

After dressing into his navy pajamas, he crawled underneath the navy star wars comforter coating his full-sized bed. Percy attempted to close his eyes and just fall asleep quickly, but it was way harder than he anticipated. 

At times he felt way too cold, snuggling his body into the deep covers, but seconds later he’d feel way too hot and have to force himself above the sheets. It reminded him of how he felt during his panic attack. Not fun. 

And on top of that, he couldn’t get his mind off of Annabeth. He wanted nothing more than to talk to her, not just over the phone but in person. It’d only been hours since he last saw her, but he was yearning for her comfort more than ever. 

He just wanted Annabeth to hold him and tell him he’d be alright. Promise him that she’d never leave him, ever. And that this potential relationship with Connor would change nothing about their friendship. But that was unlikely, and Percy was alone in his bed. 

No Annabeth in his arms and no way to get her off his mind. 

Eventually, his mom came in to say goodnight, asking him if he’d been feeling okay. Percy never went to bed this early. She switched on the lamp resting against his bedside table, observing her son’s face. He must’ve looked pale still because Sally began checking his temperature with the back of her hand. The cool touch against his skin calmed his body down temporarily. 

She said he felt warm, but not enough to have a fever. That was good. She asked him if he was feeling okay once more, and he just nodded, keeping his eyes closed. The bright lamp was making his nausea grow. 

So, Sally kissed him again before turning off the lamp and walking out of his bedroom. She had left Percy’s room around 10:36 p.m. 

Percy didn’t fall asleep until four in the morning. 

______________________

Percy only got five hours of sleep that night. 

The loud sounds of Estelle screaming “Under The Sea” from The Little Mermaid playing on the television downstairs was killing his ears. This was a Saturday morning routine for Percy’s younger sister, he should’ve been used to it by now. But her sharp voice was not helping the already pounding headache that’d been growing behind his eyes. 

He felt absolutely horrible. 

Percy groggily sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily. The bright rays of the sun beamed through the blinds, making his room very warm and stuffy, resembling how his body felt.

The boy swallowed, feeling the roughness of his throat. He looked to his right, seeing a glass of water placed there with a green sticky note. His mom must’ve come in while he was sleeping and left the items there. Percy took a quick sip of the water, letting the cold texture comfort him for just a moment. 

The sticky note read: 

_“Hey Perce! Come downstairs when you wake up, okay?_

_We’re taking Estelle to the aquarium today._

_Haha, that rhymed :)_

_-Love, Mom”_

Christ. Percy was not feeling up for the aquarium. 

Frankly, he wasn’t feeling good at all. After last night’s fiasco, his immune system was failing him. He must’ve been sick because the idea of walking around an aquarium with his family for hours made him feel more nauseous than he already was. 

And on top of nausea came a really bad stomach pain, one that hadn’t been there the night before. That wasn’t good. But Percy decided to ignore it in hopes that eventually it would go away, just like he did for everything. 

Per his mother’s request, Percy forced himself out of the bed, nearly doubling over as he tried to stand. Jesus, his body ached so bad: his muscles, his head, his stomach. Everything hurt. 

Percy managed to stretch as much as he possibly could before sluggishly grabbing his phone and turning it fully on. 

Tons of notifications flooded the lock screen. Some emails from teachers, social media notifications, and a boatload of group chat messages. But nothing from Annabeth. 

Percy couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. 

He chose not to answer any messages quite yet, putting his phone in the pocket of his pajamas. 

A huge wave of nausea washed over him, making Percy unintentionally sway back and forth. The boy swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath. Then, he allowed his feet to guide him to the kitchen. 

Going downstairs was a mistake. 

Upon immediate arrival, Percy was hit with a strong whiff of breakfast being made. Usually he would feel glad to smell his mother’s classic blue pancakes, but the scent was making his stomach angry. He really was not hungry right. 

“Percy!” Estelle exclaimed, running towards her older brother and wrapping her body around his leg. She was wearing a brightly colored princess dress and a tiara that was definitely too big for her head. 

The sudden contact against Percy’s leg made his stomach jerk violently, but he didn’t want to react negatively to his younger sister. It would probably make her upset. 

“Hey Stelle,” Percy said, forcing a pained smile while patting the younger girl’s head. 

“Well look who’s risen from the grave,” Sally said leaving her cooking station to come greet her son. She kissed him lightly on the cheek. “How are you feeling today?” She asked him, feeling the warmth against his skin. Percy moved her hands away from him.

“I’m okay Mom,” Percy said, walking away quickly. Estelle skipped back over to her playing area. 

The young boy walked over to the breakfast table, kind of limping from the soreness of his muscles. He took a seat at the end of the table, choosing not to greet Nico or Thalia. Instead, Percy put his head in his heads, sighing shakily. 

“You okay Perce?” Thalia asked sympathetically, seeing how much pain her cousin was in. 

The boy didn’t respond, he only nodded. 

“Okay well you look like shit,” Nico said, not looking up from his cellphone. Percy groaned. 

“Fuck off.” Percy barked towards Nico, only making his younger cousin grin. 

“Watch your language Perseus.” Sally told her son. 

Percy mumbled a quick apology before putting his head in his hands yet again. God his head hurt so bad. 

A few minutes passed and the family sat in silence, only the mumbling of Estelle playing with her toys and muffled sounds of The Little Mermaid buzzing in the background.

Percy decided to check his phone while waiting for a new topic of conversation, or at least for his mother to finish making breakfast, though he wasn’t too excited about eating it. 

He shuffled through the iMessage app, leaving short responses to those he didn’t care to have a full conversation with. Then, he decided to look through the group chat. 

____

**the superior seven**

_yesterday._

**Annabeth**

(10:34 pm) hey has anyone heard from percy ?

(10:34 pm) i texted him and he left me on read lol 

**Leo**

(10:36 pm) damnnn 

**Frank**

(10:36 pm) Wait what??? That’s weird.

**Hazel**

(10:38 pm) yah i wonder if he’s ok :(((

**Piper**

(10:40 pm) hmm 

**Annabeth**

(10:43 pm) do u think he’s mad at me? 

**Jason**

(10:45 pm) beth, why would he be mad at u?

(10:45 pm) did u guys argue or something ? 

**Piper**

(10:46 pm) yah exactly, why would he be mad? 

**Annabeth**

(10:48 pm) idk lol 

**Leo**

(10:47 pm) lmaoo annabeth putting “lol” so she doesn’t seem upset 

**Annabeth**

(10:48 pm) literally shut up 

(10:48 pm) anyways…..

(10: 49 pm) he just doesn’t leave me on read like ever so im kinda worried 

**Hazel**

(10:49 pm) i’m sure he’s ok!!!

(10:49 pm) maybe he just forgot to respond 

**Frank**

(10:51 pm) Yah 

(10:51 pm) Plus I don’t think he was feeling too good. 

(10:51 pm) He’s probably sleeping. 

**Jason**

(10:52 pm) yah beth u worry too much 

(10:52 pm) i doubt it has anything to do with u 

**Piper**

(10:53 pm) mhmm 

(10:53 pm) plus u have bigger things to worry abt 

(10:54 pm) UR GOING ON A DATE W/ CONNOR STOLL 

____

  
  


Percy scrolled further.

____

**the superior seven**

_today._

**Annabeth**

(8:17 am) ok guys i’m going on the date with him today i think

(8:30 am) …… hello ? 

(8:45 am) is no one awake ??? 

**Leo**

(8:47 am) iM UP 

(8:47 am) HEYYYYY 

**Annabeth**

(8:48 am) anyone but Leo pls 

(8:48 am) why tf are u awake anyways u always sleep in until 12pm 

**Leo**

(8:50 am) i didn’t sleep lolololol 

(8:50 am) dude i have so much red bull in my system rn 

(8:50 am) might have a heart attack ???? keep y’all updated

**Piper**

(8:55 am) IM AWAKE IM AWAKE OMG

(8:55 am) TODAY WTF 

(8:55 am) ANNABETH HOW R U NOT DYING 

**Annabeth:**

(8:56 am) idk idk lolll i just woke up i'm kinda tired 

(8:56 am) i don’t think the reality of it has hit me yet

**Jason**

(8:58 am) y’all are loud omg 

(8:58 am) that’s rlly exciting Beth 

(8:59 am) go get em tiger! 

  
  


**Piper**

(9:00 am) jason stop talking like a white dad challenge go!

**Jason**

(9:01 am) heyyy :( 

**Annabeth**

(9:05 am) guys i’m rlly nervous omfg 

(9:05 am) im gonna pass out i swear 

(9:06 am) dude i like him so much i don’t wanna mess this up

(9:06 am) ughhhhhh i’m so nervous stop stop i can’t-

**Piper**

(9:07 am) aww beth ur so cute 

**Hazel**

(9:09 am) hey! I just woke up but omg!

(9:09 am) annabeth i’m so excited for u!

**Leo**

(9:10 am) damn u rlly like this dude huh

**Annabeth**

(9:12 am) yeah 

(9:12 am) i think i rlly like him 

____

Okay, Percy was done reading the conversation now. He couldn’t bear to see Annabeth talk about her fond infatuation over Connor Stoll. It made him feel like shit. 

“Breakfast is ready.” Sally said, snapping Percy out of his focus on the text messages before he spiraled her any further. “Phone’s down, it’s time to eat.” 

A stack of blue pancakes was placed in front of the dark-haired boy, making his mouth water, but not in the way he’d prefer it too. He swallowed thickly again. No way he was going to eat a single bite of the food in front of him. 

But then again, if he didn’t eat any food his mom would pester him. However, he wasn’t feeling good whatsoever. Percy just decided to put his head down on the table again. 

His mind began to run thinking about Annabeth going on that date later with Connor. Percy attempted to think about anything else: school, swim practice, the aquarium trip later. Literally anything. But it wasn’t working. 

Annabeth was going on a date with Connor. Today. And there was nothing Percy could do about it because he was going to look at fish with his family. She was gonna be gone forever, and he’d never be her’s. This was a nightmare. 

“Percy, are you gonna touch your food?” Sally asked. The sound of utensils clashing against the glass plates scratched Percy’s ears. “Is there something wrong?” She sounded more concerned than mad. 

There was no point in hiding it anymore. Percy felt horrible, mentally and physically. He had to tell someone before it was too late. And before his body decided to rebel against him unexpectedly. 

“I’m not feeling so good.” Percy mumbled, loud enough for his family to hear. The sound of utensils suddenly stopped. “Sorry,” He said, sitting up, looking his mother directly in the eyes. 

“It’s okay honey, what’s wrong?” Sally asked. She knew he’d been sick all along. 

“My stomach is actually murdering me right now.” There was a moment of silence. 

“Do you feel like you’re gonna be sick?” 

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” 

Percy in fact was not fine because after five minutes of trying to control a panicked feeling growing in his stomach, Percy was on the verge of losing it. He felt so sick, he had to throw up. 

This sucked, it truly sucked. And all because Annabeth was just going on a date with Connor? What the fuck was going on with him? 

Without warning, Percy forced himself away from the dining room table and towards the bathroom, shutting it quickly and kneeling in front of the toilet ahead of him. He did feel really sick, but he hadn’t eaten in so long he didn’t know if anything would come up. 

And he was right because he’d been kneeling in front of the porcelain for maybe ten minutes and nothing happened. He coughed a bunch, but that’s as far as he got. It was merely just waves of nausea at this point. 

  
Eventually, there was a knock at the door. 

“Perce, are you okay?” Sally asked from outside the door. “I have some water for you honey,” Percy whimpered back as a signal for her to come in. 

His mother opened the door, looking down at her son sympathetically. She quickly greeted him, setting the water down on the tile and crouching down behind him, immediately rubbing Percy’s back. 

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier,” The boy said, his lip quivering. He was fighting back the urge to cry. “I didn’t know I was this sick.” 

He wanted to tell her the full truth. Tell her that he only felt this way because of everything going on with Annabeth. And that he had a panic attack last night. And that he’d stopped taking his medication a while ago. Percy wanted to tell her everything, but he decided not to. 

“Percy, I don’t mind. Just relax okay.” Sally responded. 

Another couple of minutes passed and Percy barely managed to get anything up while Sally continued to soothingly rub his back. Eventually, the boy gave up, deciding to take a sip of his water and collapse into his mother’s lap. She felt the warmth of his cheeks, growing more concerned than she already was. 

“Perce, do you think you can move to the couch?” Sally asked her son who’d been curled up in her lap, shutting his eyes tightly. The coughing made his head hurt even more. He must’ve had a migraine at this point. 

All he could manage was a nod before Sally grabbed his hand, leading him out of the bathroom. He kept his eyes closed, trusting that his mother would guide him perfectly towards the couch, and she did. 

Upon arrival, he collapsed onto the cushion, immediately placing his head on one pillow, while wrapping his arms around another. Percy just wanted to sleep again, he was so exhausted. 

Sally left him there for a moment before returning with a thermometer. 

“I’m gonna take your temperature, okay Perce?” Sally informed him. 

100.4 ° Fahrenheit. Percy had a fever. This was just great, wasn’t it? 

“Mommy, is Percy okay?” Estelle asked, walking towards her brother, but not making immediate contact. He looked extremely pale which scared the younger girl. Sally bit her lower lip. 

“Well Stelle baby, you’re brother doesn’t feel very good. He has a tummy ache and a fever,” She explained to the younger girl as carefully as she could. “We might not be able to go to the aquarium after all—” 

“Wait, wait Mom,” Percy said sitting up quickly, which was probably a mistake because the urge to be sick washed over him again. He took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to cancel Estelle’s aquarium day because I’m sick,” 

“Honey we have to, you have a fever.” Sally told the boy. Percy looked over at Estelle who didn’t seem to fully understand what was happening, but was on the verge of a meltdown hearing the words “cancel” and “aquarium” in the same sentence. 

“I can take care of myself,” Percy told his mother. “You guys go ahead, I’ll be okay.” Was that fully the truth? No. But Percy really didn’t want to upset his younger sister. And he most certainly didn’t want to feel like a burden. 

“Are you sure? I don’t like the idea of leaving you here alone.” 

“Mom, I’m seventeen. I think I can handle myself,” Percy told her. “And look at little Estelle. You don’t wanna make her sad, do you?” The boy pressed, smirking slightly. The two older Jacksons looked at Estelle who had been flashing Sally puppy dog eyes. 

“Yeah Mommy, you don’t wanna make me sad, do you?” The younger girl asked. 

Percy would have laughed if he wasn’t feeling so miserable. 

Sally looked back and forth between her kids, hesitant on making her decision. Make the toddler cry or leave her teenage son home alone while he’s sick? A tough decision to make. But eventually she sighed, surrendering her hands up in the air. 

“Fine. I’ll leave you and take everyone else to the aquarium,” Sally said in defeat. “But you have to take care of yourself, do you hear me Perseus? And call me if anything happens. Oh and take your temperature at least every two hours and tell me if it’s gone down or not, okay? There’s medicine in the cabinet and—” 

“Mom, you’re rambling.” 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just wanna make sure you’ll be okay,” Sally chewed on her lower lip. 

“I will be fine.” 

Thirty minutes later the Jackson family + Thalia and Nico, minus Percy all left for the aquarium. Sally made sure to leave tissues, bottles of water, medicine, a thermometer, and a small trash can in the living for Percy if he needed it. She kissed the boy goodbye before finally leaving him alone in the house. 

Percy was very tired, but he didn’t feel like sleeping. Maybe it was time he texted his friends back instead. They were probably wondering where he was. 

Again the boy opened his phone to millions of notifications, mainly coming from his friends group chat. It was a good thing he’d turned his ringer off or else his phone might explode. 

____

**the superior seven**

**Percy**

Hey lol (10:35 am)

**Leo**

(10:36 am) OMG PERCY ???

(10:36 am) HE’S ALIVE 

**Piper**

(10:38 am) ummmm HELLO?

**Jason**

(10:39 am) and the boy lives!

(10:39 am) what’s up bro? 

**Annabeth**

(10:40 am) omg percy ur alive thank god 

(10:40 am) i was so worried. R u ok ???

**Frank**

(10:41 am) Hey man!

**Hazel**

(10:41 am) Hi Percy!!! How r u feeling??

**Percy**

Like shit lmao (10:42 pm)

I’m sick (10:42 pm)

**Hazel**

(10:43 am) aww :(( 

**Frank**

(10:43 am) Dude that sucks. 

**Jason**

(10:43 am) bummer 

**Piper**

(10:43 am) lol i think it’s funny HA 

**Percy**

whatever mcclean - _ - (10:44 am)

But yeah it sucks ass (10:44 am)

**Annabeth**

(10:44 am) do you have a fever? Or the flu? 

(10:44 am) Or is it just a cold? 

____

Hmm. Percy was stuck. How was he supposed to respond? Maybe he did have the flu? But this sickness was most likely a result of his wretched anxiety and weak immune system failing against it.

But he wasn’t going to tell them that. That would make them worry, and he’d already made enough people worry in the last 24 hours. The only other option was to lie. 

____

**the superior seven**

**Percy**

yah it’s the flu i think (10:45 am)

i have rlly bad headache and i almost threw up (10:45 am)

tmi but whatever lol (10:45 am)

  
  


**Jason**

(10:45 am) yikes 

**Hazel**

(10:46 am) oh no! that sounds terrible :( 

**Piper**

(10:46 am) ew gross 

**Annabeth**

(10:47 am) piper don’t be mean 

**Piper**

(10:47 am) i literally didn’t do anything-

**Frank**

(10:48 am) Well I hope you feel better soon. 

(10:48 am) Let us know if you need anything. 

**Leo**

(10:48 am) yah i’ll bring u some redbull! 

**Percy**

that’s probably a horrible idea (10:50 am)

____

_Ring Ring!_

**Incoming Facetime Call: Annabeth Chase.**

Shit, shit, shit. Percy looked like absolute shit. What was he supposed to say? How was he gonna react? He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t talk to her. No no, he could. Just take a deep breath Percy, you’re gonna be just fine. Relax. Deep breath in, and release. 

Okay. She’s waiting. Just pick up. You’re gonna be fine. He swiped across the screen, accepting Annabeth’s call. 

“Hey,” Percy said groggily, greeting the girl. She looked really good and he looked like absolute crap. This was just lovely, wasn’t it? 

“Oh my god Perce, are you okay?” Annabeth said, looking at him closely. She looked very concerned for him, but it was kind of cute. The boy chuckled, rubbing his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” 

“Where are you right now?” 

“Mmm my couch. I felt too weak to walk all the way up the stairs.” 

“You’re that sick huh,” 

“Yup. I feel really bad.” 

“Is your mom home?” 

Percy shook his head. 

“Well she just left actually. Maybe fifteen minutes ago? She took Estelle, Thalia, and Nico with her so I’m home alone.” 

“Wait no one’s there with you?” Annabeth sounded really worried. 

“Nope. I’m alone. But it’s fine, I told my mom to go with them. Estelle was supposed to go to the aquarium today anyways and I didn’t want them to cancel because I was sick. I told her I could take care of myself.” 

“Doubtful.” 

Percy scoffed. 

“I am more than worthy of taking care of myself, thank you very much.” 

“Again, doubtful.” Annabeth added, making him laugh again. “Do you want me to come over?” 

Percy felt his heart stop beating for a moment and swallowed thickly. 

“D-don’t you have your date with, um, Connor later?” 

“Well yeah but you're sick and I don’t wanna leave you alone.” 

She’d leave her date for him? Wow. Percy could feel butterflies forming in his stomach. Or maybe it was just nausea. It was hard to tell. 

“You really don’t have to come, Annabeth. Seriously. I wouldn’t want you to miss your date because of me.” A total lie. “I know you’ve really been looking forward to this.” 

Annabeth shrugged. 

“I know but I care about you, idiot. And I won’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you while I was on my date.” 

Percy could feel his cheeks blushing, and he bit the inner of his lip to stop himself from smiling. 

“Oh my god, I’m not dying. I’m just a little sick.” 

Annabeth was silent for a moment, thinking about what to say. Then a lightbulb went off inside of her head. 

“What if I came over after my date? Me and Connor are just going to get lunch and see a movie. I could just swing by right after.” 

He was taking her to lunch and a movie? Wow, this guy really needed to step up his game. Percy could do much better. Lunch and a movie was so clich é. 

The dark-haired boy shrugged his shoulders. 

“I really don’t wanna be a burden.”

“Percy stop it, you’re not a burden.”

“Forcing you away from your date just so you can take care of me? That sounds like burden behavior to me.”

“Why do you never want to ask for help?”

“Because I don’t need it, Annabeth”

“I’m not arguing with you about this right now,” Annabeth said, getting the dark-haired boy to shut up, which was probably better for the both of them. 

When they argued, it usually got out of control and stressed them both out, and Percy didn't need to have any more stress weighing on his shoulders today. 

“If you want to come over then come over. But I mean only if you want to.” He told her. “But still, I don’t want you to worry about me while you’re on your date.” 

Again, not true. But Percy didn’t want to fully give himself away. 

In actuality, he’d really love it if Annabeth came over. They could cuddle against each other on the couch and watch cartoons while she played in his hair. And if he felt sick she could rub his back just like his mother always did to him. Annabeth had always been very motherly, and Percy admired that. He just wanted her here more than anything. 

“Percy I’m gonna be worried regardless. If you let me come over, I’m gonna come over.” 

  
  


“Okay fine.” 

“I can come over after my date with Connor?” 

“Yes.” 

“Okay, okay I will.” 

“Just text me when you’re about to get here so I can let you in, okay? Hopefully I’m not asleep.” 

“Yeah I’ll text you.” Annabeth confirmed. Percy was starting to feel a little bit better. Annabeth was coming over. Everything was gonna be great. “And I’ll make sure to tell you all the details of my date when I get home.” Alright, moment ruined. 

Percy suddenly felt terribly sick again. The urge to puke returned, even stronger than the last time. And he didn’t feel like hurling in front of Annabeth. He had to hang up and fast. Percy assumed Annabeth could sense a change in his manner because her face dropped quickly. 

“Hey are you okay? You just got real pale .” 

“Actually I’m gonna go. I’ll see you later, okay?” 

“Wait Percy what’s—” But before Annabeth could finish her sentence, Percy hurriedly ended the facetime call. 

And then he threw up. 

______________________

  
  


Percy managed to throw up five more times throughout the course of the afternoon, luckily not making a mess he wouldn’t be able to clean up. And he only hurled when the topic of Annabeth was circling his mind. He first tried to put his phone away in hopes that the group chat messages about Connor and Annabeth would stop making him feel so ill, but even without his phone, his brain did all the overthinking for him. 

Percy was completely and utterly lovesick. 

He moved between the bathroom and his resting position on the couch, but he never managed to find a comfortable spot to puke (if there even was such a thing). Percy really wanted Annabeth to show up soon, but he was scared that just looking at her would make him sick again. Just the mere thought of her was killing the boy. 

Per his mother’s request, he took his temperature, seeing it raised slightly. Percy groaned, laying back hopelessly on the couch. All this mess because Annabeth was on a date with a boy. How lame is he? 

Percy decided he wasn’t gonna tell his mom about his spike in temperature, it wasn’t that big of an increase anyways. 100.4 ° Fahrenheit to 100.7 ° Fahrenheit? Not that big of a deal. 

  
  


At this point, all he wanted to do was sleep his problems away in hopes that his stomach wouldn’t violently wake him up again. 

Percy closed his eyes around 2 pm and didn’t wake up until five. 

The extremely long nap was actually just what he needed. And though he wasn’t feeling completely better when he woke up, he at least didn’t have the daunting urge to puke anymore. That was a major relief. 

Percy reached for his phone that’d been resting on the coffee table, checking to see if his mother had messaged him in the past three hours. She’d probably been terribly worried. And Percy was right, he had a bunch of missed calls and texts from his mom. 

But also a bunch from Annabeth. 

____

**Annabeth**

_(12:58 pm) how r u doing rn ?_

_Fine. (1:30 pm)_

_(1:33 pm) ok i’m gonna come over around 5:30_

_(1:40 pm) is that cool?_

_Mhm (1:44pm)_

(2:25 pm) hey i’m on my date but r u ok 

(3:00 pm) percy hello ? 

(3:34 pm) ur ok right ????

(4:05 pm) i’m hoping ur asleep rn lol

(4:11 pm) did something happen ? did u get sick ?

(4:46 pm) just txt me asap. i wanna make sure ur ok

____

____

**_(5) Missed Calls from Annabeth Chase_ **

**_(3) Missed Calls from Mom <3_ **

____

Great. 

This was just great. 

Quickly, Percy texted his Mom to inform her that he was alive. She responded immediately, thankful that her son was okay. Sally told him that the family would be going to dinner before returning home. 

Alright, the easy part was over. Now it was time to face Annabeth. Percy just hoped his stomach wouldn’t rebel against him when he did. 

____

**Annabeth**

im sry im sry im sry (5:09 pm)

i fell asleep (5:09 pm)

i rlly wasn’t feeling good (5:09 pm)

i should’ve texted u b4 i passed out (5:09 pm)

(5:10 pm) omg ur alive 

(5:10 pm) jesus christ percy 

ik ik i’m rlly sry (5:10 pm)

my body is just rlly tired rn (5:11 pm)

i’ve thrown up like six times (5:11 pm)

____

Merely because his body couldn’t handle the idea of Annabeth and Connor getting it on at their movie date. But he couldn’t tell her that, of course. 

____

**Annabeth**

(5:12 pm) it’s ok 

(5:12 pm) i’m not mad srsly 

(5:12 pm) u just scared me idiot 

ik im sry (5:12 pm)

(5:13 pm) u apologize a lot. 

sorry (5:13 pm)

wait (5:13 pm)

(5:13 pm) lolol 

(5:14 pm) how r u feeling now? 

better, but i’m sure that’s temporary (5:14 pm)

kinda just the waiting game rn (5:14 pm)

(5:15 pm) ok good 2 know 

(5:17 pm) i’ll be there soon 

wait already ? (5:17 pm)

(5:18 pm) yah i told u 5:30 

(5:18 pm) u forget ? 

wow time moves fast lol (5:18 pm)

Ok i’ll get ready to let u in (5:18 pm)

(5:19 pm) no don’t worry abt getting up

(5:19 pm) i have a spare key for the house 

(5:19 pm) i’ll let myself in 

____

Wow, she was perfect. 

Sooner than later, Annabeth allowed herself in through the front door. 

“I’m here.” She announced in a sing-song tone, locking the door behind her. She took off her overcoat, marching directly towards the kitchen. She’d been carrying a plastic bag in her hand. 

“Hey,” Percy said simply, watching her every movement from his position on the living room couch. 

“I doubt you’re hungry but I brought you some food,” Annabeth told him. “Connor and I got sushi and I thought you might want something.” 

Percy swallowed. 

“Yeah I don’t think sushi is the best idea right now —” 

“I didn’t get you sushi dumbass. I got you miso soup,” Annabeth explained, rolling her eyes. “You think I’m an idiot, Jackson?” 

“No ma’am.” 

Annabeth smiled, biting her lip. 

“That’s what I thought.” She walked over to the kitchen sink to graciously wash her hands before actually approaching Percy. 

Annabeth walked towards the living room carpet, kicking a few of Estelle’s toys that’d been on the floor out of her way. The blonde finally reached Percy, sitting on a long end of the couch near the boy’s head. 

She always loved that Percy’s couch had multiple sections, two vertical cushions on the end pointing towards the television, and a long horizontal cushion in between the two. There was more leg space that way. 

Annabeth allowed Percy’s head onto her lap, immediately running her fingers through the boy’s hair, making his heart flutter rapidly. He was so relieved to have her there. And luckily the mere thought of her wasn’t making him sick anymore. 

Percy was comfortable for the first time in hours. 

They just stared at each other for a moment, only the sound of Percy’s breathing filling the air. He could look at Annabeth for hours. She was always so beautiful, it amazed the boy. 

He obsessed over the way she looked back at him as well. How perfectly clear her grey eyes were when she stared into his green ones. And how her golden locks fell perfectly behind her ear. And if a strand fell out of place, she’d quickly just tuck it back in. And her small button nose, as well as her insanely proportionate and carefully crafted facial features. 

Or the dark-tinted pink color of her lips that matched her skin complexion better than anyone else Percy has ever known. And her damn freckles. He loved those the most. Each time he stared at her, he’d count them one by one, checking to see if one had appeared or faded. 

How could he let any of that belong to anyone else? Percy was probably the only guy she ever looked at like this, platonic or romantic. How could he let anybody else steal that from him? 

He couldn’t let someone else have that privilege. 

They didn’t deserve to observe her grey eyes or freckles or button nose or golden curls or tinted lips or anything about Annabeth at all. Did he deserve the privilege? Probably not. But he wanted it. 

Percy wouldn’t be able to live without it. 

“What are you thinking about?” Annabeth asked softly, bringing Percy out of his trance. The boy cleared his throat, quickly looking away from her. 

He prayed he wasn’t being too obvious and that Annabeth hadn’t noticed the pink color displaying against the paleness of his skin. 

“Nothing.” 

“You sure about that?” 

Percy inhaled. 

“Yup.” He thought she was gonna press him further, but she didn’t. Instead, Annabeth decided to change the subject. 

“How are you feeling doofus?” Annabeth was still playing in his hair. Percy took another breath, curling into the girl’s lap to get more comfortable and shutting his eyes. 

“Fine.” 

“Yeah you said that earlier and then you passed out for three hours after throwing up. Was it six times, you said?” Percy groaned. 

“Mm yeah.” The boy hummed. Annabeth stopped playing in his hair, staying silent for a moment. 

“You must be tired,” She started. “I’ll leave you alone.” Annabeth tried to get up before Percy grabbed her hand. She froze for a second, then turned back towards him. 

“Please stay.” Percy whined. 

The girl frowned at him, her heart melting and breaking simultaneously inside her chest. Percy must’ve looked absolutely miserable. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll stay,” Annabeth told him, sitting back down on the couch. “But if you get me sick, you’re a dead man, Jackson.” 

“Oh right, I’m contagious,” He suddenly remembered. “Well then you don’t have to sit with me then if you don’t want—” 

“Percy I was kidding.” She lightheartedly laughed at him. “You know I’ll stay with you for as long as you need me to. Even if I may potentially get sick,” Annabeth allowed Percy to crawl into her arms, covering both of them with a blanket. “Besides, my immune system is stronger than yours.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” 

For the next hour, the two best friends snuggled against each other while watching The Princess Diaries, which happened to be the two’s favorite comfort film. Percy felt unbelievably comfortable against Annabeth’s chest. She felt so warm and so soft. 

For a moment Percy forgot that he was even sick in the first place. After relaxing himself into her supporting arms, he forgot about his headaches and nausea. And somehow he forgot his body was absolutely drained from vomiting continuously all afternoon. 

  
  


“How did you even manage to get sick?” Annabeth asked randomly. 

Fuck fuck fuck.

Time for Percy to lie yet again. 

“Uhhh, I don’t know. It’s flu season?” 

“Hmm.” Annabeth said. “But you never really get too sick this time of year. It’s always the summer weather that fucks up your body, right?” 

“Well yeah, but I guess this year’s different.” Again, Annabeth hummed. Percy could tell by her tone that she was growing suspicious. 

“I wonder if anyone else at our school has the flu.”

“Maybe.” 

“But I mean we’d probably know by now.” 

“I could’ve gotten it from a travel swim team? That’s a possibility right?” 

“Yeah, but surely someone from your team would’ve gotten it too.” 

“Maybe. But I’m probably just unlucky.” 

“Hm.” 

“Why do you keep humming?” Percy asked, but Annabeth didn’t respond. The boy swallowed thickly. He was starting to think Annabeth knew something. 

“I’ve been thinking about the last time you got this sick,” Annabeth said simply. She wasn’t looking at him, her eyes were still fixated on the TV. “It was a year ago when your anxiety was pretty bad. Before you started taking your medication.” 

Okay she definitely knew something. 

“Okay? What does that have to do with anything.” Percy turned around to look his best friend in the eye. Annabeth looked angry, but also upset. 

  
  


“Thalia told me.” 

“Told you what?” Percy was trying to play dumb. Annabeth looked at him sternly, growing annoyed with the boy. She hated when he tried to play dumb. She paused before speaking again.

“Why didn’t you tell me you stopped taking your medication?” 

There it was. 

The truth was revealed. 

And Percy was going to kill Thalia. 

He took off the blanket that’d been coating both their legs, immediately getting up from the couch. Percy wasn’t ready to talk about this. Not here and not now. And especially not right after Annabeth’s date with Connor. 

“I don’t really wanna talk about this right now,” Percy said, walking away from Annabeth. 

“Percy stop—” 

“When did she tell you?” He snapped. Annabeth hesitated. 

“Yesterday. She told me you had a panic attack.” 

“ _Jesus christ._ ” Percy whispered under his breath, beginning to pace back and forth while massaging his eyes aggressively. “So you knew this whole time? Is that why you wanted to come over?” 

Again, Annabeth hesitated. 

“Okay you know I would’ve come over regardless of the panic attack or not,” She told him truthfully. “But yeah that’s kinda why I’m here. I wanted to talk.” 

“So you’ve just been lying to me this entire day?” Percy asked her angrily. He still hadn’t stopped massaging his eyes. He couldn’t believe this was happening. 

“Percy I could say the same thing about you,” She bit back. Percy chose not to respond. “But that’s why I wanted to come today. So we could talk about it after my date with Connor—” 

“Please can not talk about Connor right now,” Percy's voice trembled. A horribly sick feeling returned after she said Connor’s name. 

Annabeth paused. 

“Why?” The girl asked simply. Percy just kept his head in his hands, beginning to take deep breaths in order to stay calm. Annabeth noticed. “Percy why?” 

Percy was absolutely stuck with no clue what to do. 

There was nowhere for him to go. 

No more excuse to make. 

And no way for him to get out of this. 

He just decided to cry. 

Yet again he was crying over something he felt was so tedious and unimportant, but couldn’t manage to control his cries. He felt so embarrassed, not wanting to even glance at Annabeth. She probably thought he was insane. 

But Annabeth was never that judgmental. 

“Percy,” Annabeth said softly. Percy could feel her presence approaching him quickly. Then, he felt her pulling his wrist apart so he’d stop crying into his hands. “Hey, look at me,” She guided his chin up to look her in the eyes. “Why’d you have that reaction when I mentioned Connor?” 

Percy inhaled sharply, wanting to look away from her. 

“I’m so stupid.” He mumbled. 

“Stop that. Just talk to me.” Annabeth told him sternly. She took a deep breath. “Why is he making you anxious?” 

“Because of—” Breath, Percy. Just take a deep breath. “God Annabeth I can’t— how am I supposed to….” 

“Tell me.” Annabeth pleaded, though she already had an idea as to what he was gonna tell her. But she wanted to hear him say it himself. “Please Percy. Tell me why,” They were face to face, inches apart. 

The boy sniffed, waiting a moment to respond. He was gonna regret this later. 

“I think you already know why,” Percy’s voice hitched. 

There was a silent, mutual understanding between the two. Annabeth’s expression was hard to read and Percy didn’t even want to begin to guess what she was thinking. He couldn’t handle this right now. 

But before the moment got any tenser than it already was, Annabeth pulled the boy into a close hug. And Percy sobbed into her shoulder. 

______________________

They ended up on opposite sides of the couch, neither one speaking to each other for a couple of minutes. Percy had gotten so overwhelmed he had to throw up again, luckily making it to the bathroom in time. But he was okay now. 

“I’m sorry for getting you worked up.” The blonde said, breaking the silence. She was looking at her hands, fighting the urge to bite her nails. 

“It’s ok.” Percy responded simply, looking at his own hands as well. “I’m sorry for lying.” 

“It’s ok.” More silence, then, “We don’t have to talk about what just happened if you don’t —”

“No it’s fine.” Percy said genuinely. “We can talk about it. But only if you want to.” 

“I want to.” 

“Okay.” Percy nodded. “Well I like you, I guess. Surprise.” The boy faked amusement by flashing jazz hands, merely to break the tension in the room. Percy hated confessions. 

“Have you always felt this way?” Annabeth started. 

“About what?” 

“Me.” 

“Oh.” Percy took a deep breath. “Yeah pretty much.” 

“All these years?” 

“Yup.” 

“And you never said anything?” 

“Yup.” 

“But why?” 

“Annabeth you’re acting like it’d be a piece of cake to confess your romantic feelings to your best friend of like seven years. Kinda easier said than done.” Percy explained. “And you were so obsessed with Connor Stoll so,” 

“I am not obsessed.” Annabeth said, offended. 

“Sure.” 

“Whatever,” The girl sat back against the couch cushion. “I still wish you would’ve told me sooner.” Percy scoffed. 

“What would that have done? I would only be embarrassing myself. You don’t even like me back. And our friendship would just be ruined. I would have accomplished absolutely nothing.” Annabeth was suspiciously quiet, getting Percy to look at her. 

“Who said I didn’t like you back?” 

The air was quiet. 

Percy nearly choked on his own saliva. 

“What,” Was the only thing the boy could manage. Annabeth shrugged her shoulders, maintaining eye contact with him. But it was clear she was nervous by the way she was chewing on her lower lip

“Who said I didn’t like you back?” The girl repeated. Percy swallowed thickly, his cheeks turning pink. But he didn’t wanna get his hopes up yet. 

“Well, do you?” Percy asked awkwardly, his voice tight. He began tugging at the collar of his oversized t-shirt. “Do you um” He cleared his throat. “Do you like me? Or something?” 

Again, Annabeth just shrugged. She moved her hands towards her lap. 

“Perhaps. Hypothetically,” 

Percy took a breath, trying to cool his burning cheeks down. This was a lot to take in right now. And this is definitely not how he expected the rest of his day to go. 

“Okay well if you like me, hypothetically of course,” Percy clarified, positioning himself into a more comfortable sitting position. “Why would you go on a date with _Connor_?” Percy emphasized the name, pretending to gag. Annabeth laughed. 

“Maybe because I wasn’t sure if you actually liked me, and I didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to go on a date with another guy I also had a crush on. Hypothetically.” 

Percy’s face dropped. 

“So you still do like Connor?” He asked. “You like both of us at the same time? Hypothetically?” Annabeth groaned, sighing as she rubbed her temples. 

“Well I don’t really like Connor...but I also do? I don’t know, it’s complicated. I like how he’s sweet and caring. And he’s really cute. And he has super good hair. And he makes me laugh. And he’s really attractive when he drives and—”

“Okay I get it.” Percy interrupted. 

“Sorry,” Annabeth apologized. “But I don’t know. I feel like I’m just using him to distract myself from other things. From other feelings I’m not quite ready to confront. _A person_ I wasn’t ready to confront just yet. Hypothetically.” 

“Me? Hypothetically?” 

“Yeah.” Annabeth admitted. “Hypothetically.” 

Percy thought for a moment before speaking again. 

“Okay let me get this straight,” Percy said, taking in all the information he was just giving. “You like me? Hypothetically. But you also like Connor. But you think you only like Connor because you want to distract yourself from your feelings for me? And you were scared I didn’t like you back so you accepted Connor’s date because something was better than nothing? Hypothetically?” 

Annabeth nodded with a shy laugh. 

“Yeah basically.” 

“Wow.” Percy sighed, shaking his head. “You’re a bitch.” Annabeth scoffed, grabbing a pillow and launching it towards him. It hit Percy right in the head. 

“Hey! Hey!” Percy whined “I’m still sick,” He managed a fake cough. “You are a terrible nurse, Annabeth Chase.” Annabeth rolled her eyes, making Percy chuckle. The boy cleared his throat again. “Okay so what happens now?” 

Annabeth’s cheeks quickly turned pink. 

“I’m not sure,” She told him truthfully. “I guess the most responsible thing would be to first text Connor and tell him that things won’t work out between us,” 

“Yeah?” Percy boy smirked. “Then what?” Annabeth tried to hide the smile that was growing on her lips. 

“Then I’d probably go to you and tell you that you’ve been the guy of my dreams all this time. And I was just blinded by my own insecurity to do anything about it,” 

“Cringe, but ok.” Percy teased. “Then what?” 

“And then you’d tell me you felt the same way, eventually kissing me in the end. Just like in the movies. Or Taylor Swift song.” Percy laughed, feeling his cheeks hurt from blushing again. But he didn’t want the feeling to end. 

“Just like a Taylor Swift song.” The boy repeated. 

“But, you’re sick. So we’re not kissing,” Annabeth told him, trying to mask her disappointment. 

“But I’m sick.” Percy repeated her again. “And there will be no kissing.” 

“Well not today at least.” 

The boy’s smile returned at her comment. Not today, but someday. Hopefully someday soon. Percy took another breath. 

“Well, can we at least cuddle again? I liked that.” Annabeth bit her lip, unable to hit her wide grin this time. 

“Yeah. We can cuddle.” 

**Author's Note:**

> if ur reading this, ur a real one and i love u; thanks for staying until the end <3 might make a collection of percabeth oneshots. pls leave comments + kudos, it really encourages me to continue writing!  
> k i love u & remember to take care of urself!!!!


End file.
